Brand Purpose Goes Beyond Hot Topic Issues, Accenture Reports

BY

Purpose-driven marketing is more than a strategy—it’s a necessity, according to new data from Accenture Strategy. Aligning a brand with popular sentiment isn’t enough, however—meaningful relationships must be created by shifting the conversation from “me” to “we.”

Accenture Strategy surveyed nearly 30,000 consumers in 35 countries between August 1 and October 16 as part of its 14th annual Global Consumer Pulse Research. Purpose-related findings were published in a study called “To Affinity and Beyond: From Me to We, The Rise of the Purpose-Led Brand.”

Just as people want to associate with like-minded individuals, consumers are largely drawn to brands that meet the same criteria. Conversely, consumers have turned away from brands they deem to be in opposition to issues they personally care about.

The survey found that 62 percent of customers want companies to take a stand on current and broadly relevant issues such as sustainability, transparency and fair employment practices. Unsurprisingly, just over half of consumers (53 percent) will complain when they are disappointed in a brand’s words or actions. The difference, Accenture noted, is that 47 percent walk away in frustration and 17 percent will never come back.

There is a common belief among consumers (two out of three surveyed) that, through their own actions, they have a direct impact on a brand’s reaction to an event through their actions. This could range from posting comments on social media to participating in boycotts.

While disagreements on a topic can turn consumers away, respondents also shared what attracts them to buy from certain brands over others. Transparency and brand culture were the top reasons at 66 percent each, followed by companies that treat its employees well (65 percent).

A commitment to reducing plastics and improving the environment is important to 62 percent of respondents, as are ethical values and being passionate about the products and services it sells.

Accenture advises brands to build meaningful relationships that shift customer dialogue from “give ME what I want” to “support the ideals WE believe in.” Much like dating, long-lasting relationships formed with brands are grounded in a common purpose. Authentic relationships based on an affinity to brands that do more than just make money, they conclude.

Facebook Tests Live Shopping Videos; YouTube Adds Autoplay

BY

This week in social media news, Facebook wants to be the next home shopping network, YouTube Mobile gets an autoplay option, Facebook makes holiday wishlists, tests keywords and entices video creators in India while Snapchat reveals the quick service restaurant dining habits of its users.

Facebook Tests Live Video Shopping

Facebook is testing a new feature that would allow merchants to describe wares in a live video and fulfill orders through chat.

Why it matters: Humans are visual creatures and as consumers turn to their smartphones for inspiration, Facebook wants to cash in. Should the feature be widely adopted, ecommerce would be expanded on Facebook and open the door for similar Instagram opportunities.

Details: A select number of Pages in Thailand are testing a live shopping feature, Facebook confirmed with TechCrunch. Retailers would demo and describe their products via a live feed, similar to a home shopping network. Interested viewers can screenshot an item they like and send it to the seller via Facebook chat, where they can be invoiced and complete the transaction.

YouTube Mobile Gets Autoplay Option

Soon when mobile users browse YouTube’s home page, videos will begin to play automatically, but with the sound off.

Why it matters: YouTube previously added this feature for Premium Android users so they could preview content before viewing, with “great results.” The company says that by previewing content beforehand, it allows viewers to make more informed decisions about what to watch, resulting in longer engagement times when they do.

Details: YouTube is beginning to roll out Autoplay on Home for Android and iOS devices. Users will see videos begin to autoplay with the sound off while browsing YouTube’s home page on their phones. The option can be turned off or allowed only when there is WiFi access.

Facebook Adds Inspiration Section For Brands

A best-of-class collection of successful ad campaigns is now available to marketers to peruse for inspiration on Facebook.

Why it matters: As the second-largest seller of advertising in the world, Facebook needs to keep marketers happy and inspired amid an agonizing stream of controversies. Proving that advertising works on the platform certainly doesn’t hurt.

Details: The new Inspiration section is a collection of top-performing ad content, curated by Facebook’s Creative Shop. Users can browse by month, vertical, region and success rate, as displayed on a leaderboard. The section currently features ads from Hershey’s, Amazon, Uber and more.

Facebook Makes Pinterest-Like Collections Shareable

Facebook users can now share their collections of posts with others as a kind of “wishlist” for the holidays.

Why it matters: Collaboration means more time spent on the platform—a statistic that has gone down for Facebook in recent months. Creating and sharing collections allows users to communicate ideas with others, which in turn inspires those friends and family to log in and check it out.  Facebook says that “millions” use this feature each day, so (at least in theory) millions will begin sharing those collections like an Amazon wishlist.

Details: Facebook collections rolled out a year ago but were visible only to their creators. Now, users will be able to share them with others. The idea is that collections will inspire collaboration or gift ideas, hence the timing of this release.

Keyword Mentions Being Tested For Facebook Groups

Group admins may soon be able to set up notifications for specific keywords.

Why it matters: Brands would be able to identify intent-related keywords within a group and offer a timely reaction. While the intent is to allow admins to weed out offensive conversations, the opposite could also be true.

Details: A new feature in testing would allow Facebook group admins to set up alerts when certain keywords and phrases are mentioned. This feature could help moderate offensive content, alert to interesting topics or notify brands of a particular interest.

Facebook Watch Offers Monetization In India

Indian Facebook users with over 10,000 followers can now access monetization tools for video.

Why it matters: Facebook continues its video push by offering tools similar to YouTube, its biggest rival. India is proving a lucrative market for social media giants, as well. Facebook added Stories features for Diwali celebrations this year and Snapchat just partnered with several publishers to offer local Indian Discover content for the first time.

Details: During a creator event in Mumbai, Facebook announced that Indian content creators can access tools to monetize their videos. The features are limited to videos at least three minutes in length and for creators with at least 10,000 followers.

Snapchat Explores The Eating Habits Of Its Users

Snapchat found that its users visit quick service restaurants (QSR) at least two times per week and usually on the weekends.

Why it matters: Advertisers on Snapchat can use this information to plan campaigns around when and where users are eating. Likewise, QSR brands can use this information to time campaigns and drive visits during less popular times of the week.

Details: US Snapchatters grab a bite between shopping trips and most often on Saturdays while Canadians do so on Fridays, the social network revealed. Different restaurants vary in popularity depending on the day. Taco Bell appears to be the most popular choice for a quick bite, especially on Sundays at 16.05 percent. Time of day also effects QSR visitation, Snapchat found. For Starbucks, peak US Snapchatter visitation is at 3:00 p.m. while McDonald’s, Subway, Burger King and Taco Bell are busiest at 6 p.m.

Editor’s Note: Our weekly social media news post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, December 7. Have a news tip? We’re looking for changes to and news surrounding social media platforms as they relate to marketing. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.

This Week’s Exec Shifts: Daily Mirror Welcomes CMO; Unilever Chief Marketing Officer Keith Weed To Retire

BY

This week’s executive moves include Unilever’s famous CMO heading for retirement, Rivian hires a prominent first marketing chief, Friendly’s creates a chief brand officer position, the first CMO for Reserve, Banc of California Stadium’s first vice president of marketing, World Rugby’s first chief marketing officer, Tech21 promotes its marketing director to CEO, GSMA appoints a new chair and Protective Life Corporation appoints an SVP and CMO

Check out our careers section for executive job openings and to post your own staffing needs.

Daily Mirror Appoints CMO

Jo Bacon has joined Daily Mirror as chief marketing officer. She switches to this new role from WPP, where she was the client lead for IAG Airlines and oversaw marketing campaigns for Ogilvy, Wavemaker and Hill and Knowlton.

Prior to that, Bacon led marketing efforts at Viacom Channel 5 and MTV. She also held previous roles at DDB and Saatchi & Saatchi.

Unilever CMO Announces Retirement

Keith Weed, Unilever’s renowned chief marketing and communications officer, will retire in May 2019, he announced via Twitter. He has been with the company for 35 years.

Weed has been an outspoken advocate for marketing reform, calling on social media giants and CMOs alike to create higher standards. Unilever spent over $9 billion in advertising last year alone, and Weed used the company’s spending power to demand change. During the Interactive Advertising Bureau conference, Keith Weed challenged social media giants to “collectively rebuild trust back into our systems and our society.” 2018, he said, would be the year when social media must win Unilever’s trust back.

Although retiring, Weed says he plans to remain active in the industry and push for change.

El Pollo Loco CMO Resurfaces As FIC Brand Officer

Ed Valle has joined Friendly’s parent company FIC Restaurants as chief brand officer, a new role for the company. Valle abruptly left his role as CMO of El Pollo Loco after seven years. Prior to his time at El Pollo Loco, Valle served as chief marketing strategist for Choice Hotels International and helped lead marketing efforts at Panera and Dunkin’.

“I know firsthand how effective Ed can be with turning a brand around, and as someone with a similar background I feel confident that we will join forces to reestablish Friendly’s position in the dining space,” FIC Restaurants’ interim CEO George Michel said in a statement.

Magic Leap CMO Steps Down

Brenda Freeman has stepped back into an advisory role for the augmented reality startup, according to TechCrunch. She will take on a new role as Special Projects Advisor, reporting to the CEO.

Cresco Labs Assembles Marketing Team With PepsiCo Veterans

Cannabis operator Cresco Labs has appointed Cory Rothschild to the role of vice president, brand marketing. Rothschild was formerly the director of consumer engagement at PepsiCo for Gatorade.

Cris Rivera has been named vice president of consumer experience. Rivera most recently served as senior director of marketing for MillerCoors. Prior to that, Rivara began his career in consumer packaged goods at PepsiCo, working in innovation, retail marketing and communications for Tropicana Juices.

Zoopla Names Chief Marketing Officer

Gary Bramall has joined property brand Zoopla as chief marketing officer. Bramall most recently served as chief marketing officer at myTaxi, managing its rebrand from Hailo. His experience also includes several senior marketing roles at Microsoft, Skype, Apple and Orange.

AmaWaterways Welcomes New CMO

AmaWaterways has appointed Janet Bava to the position of chief marketing officer. Bava most recently served as vice president of marketing for Silversea Cruises. Other experience includes director of customer engagement and customer relationship management for NBCUniversal and manager of direct marketing and customer experience communications for Royal Caribbean.

SB Projects Names VP, Marketing/Promotion

SB Projects has appointed Tony Bracy as vice president of marketing and promotions. Bracy joins the media company from Capitol Records, where he was West Coast regional promotion director. He is credited with working hit songs by Katy Perry, Niall Horan, Tori Kelly and others.

In his new role, Bracy will oversee all radio promotion, streaming and marketing initiatives for SB Projects clients, to include Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Zac Brown Band and Tori Kelly.

The Co-operators Names EVP, Digital Marketing Chief

Canadian insurance co-op The Co-operators has named Emmie Fukuchi as executive vice president and chief digital and marketing officer. Fukuchi most recently served as senior vice president of customer experience and marketing at Great-West Lifeco. Prior to that role, she was vice president of marketing innovation, digital and product development for LoyaltyOne.

In her new role, Fukuchi will oversee The Co-operators brand and lead the continuing development of digital capabilities.

AMG/Parade Promotes For VP, Integrated Marketing

Publisher AMG/Parade has promoted Monique Kakar to vice president of integrated marketing. Kakar previously served as senior marketing director. Prior to joining AMG/Parade in 2015, she spent several years at Rodale, Inc., where she helped rebrand and reinvent Prevention and Prevention.com, as well as help launch Eatclean.com. Previously, Corrine worked at American Media, Inc., where she developed marketing programs for Fit Pregnancy and Natural Health. 

Based in New York, she will work closely with the Digital Ad Operations team to develop new program ideas.

Church’s Chicken Appoints VP, Digital Marketing

Alan Magee is Church’s Chicken new vice-president of digital marketing and technology. Magee joins the brand from Moe’s Southwest Grill, where he served as senior director of brand marketing. Throughout his career, Magee has held a number of brand marketing and leadership for Arby’s Restaurant Group, InterContinental Hotels Group and Grey Worldwide Atlanta.

In this new role, Magee will lead all marketing efforts for the company and its agency partners, while implementing non-traditional and emerging digitals media and technology.

BMG Names Executive Marketing VPs For L.A., NYC

Effective January 1, BMG is restructuring its US business into three distinct units. In Los Angeles, Thomas Scherer will serve as its new executive vice president of repertoire and marketing. A 30-year music industry veteran, Scherer joined the music publisher in 2008 as one of the original Berlin employees. He most recently served as EVP of US publishing and global writer services, China.

John Loeffler, meanwhile, will run the New York office as executive vice president of repertoire and marketing.

Droga5 Marketing Chief Becomes First CMO For Rivian

Electric automaker startup Rivian has appointed Chris Wollen as its first chief marketing officer beginning in 2019. Wollen is currently the CMO for Droga5, where he has worked for nearly six years. The news comes from an inside source familiar with the matter and was reported by Agency Spy.

Prior to Droga5, Wollen worked at Barbarian Group, Grey Group and BBH New York.

Reserve Names First Marketing Chief

Digital currency company Reserve has appointed Robb Hershaw as its first chief marketing officer. Hershaw joins the brand from Cisco, where he served as head of global communications for the IoT business unit. He brings well over a decade of marketing and communications experience to Reserve and has held a number of related positions at brands like Proxim Wireless, SugarSync and inPowered.

Henshaw’s new responsibilities include managing Reserve’s marketing strategy, content marketing, PR, comms, social, public engagement and growth marketing.

Banc Of California Stadium Appoints Marketing VP

Cory Gadbury has joined Banc of California Stadium (BACS) as its first vice president of marketing. She joins the company from Live Nation, where she served as senior director of marketing for 15 years and worked on more than 1,200 concerts and events.

As marketing VP, Gadbury will oversee all marketing and advertising operations for the concert and non-MLS sports events at BACS Stadium, L.A. Coliseum and BOCS Grounds in Exposition Park.

Speaking on the hire, Adam Friedman, president of BOCS: “Cori’s unparalleled experience and proven track record in building brands and marketing a wide range of diverse live entertainment events across Southern California make her the ideal choice for leading our marketing efforts…”

World Rugby Appoints First CMO

Marissa Pace will become World Rugby’s first chief marketing officer in mid-January. Pace joins the newly formed marketing department from her own consulting firm and prior to that, head of digital media at Formula One.

In this new role, Pace will be responsible for World Rugby’s fan engagement and marketing strategies.

Speaking on the hire, World Rugby’s chief executive Brett Gosper said: “Marissa’s excellent track record in major brand, sport digital marketing strategy development and execution aligns perfectly with our continued mission…

Kopari Names Chief Marketing Officer

Jeremy Lowenstein has joined coconut oil brand Kopari as CMO. Lowenstein joins the brand from Coty, where he spent the last 11 years in a variety of global marketing roles. He also spent five years at Aveda, where he served as assistant global marketing director.

Former KFC Marketing Head Joins Shaftesbury As Non-Executive Director

Shaftesbury PLC has added Jennelle Tilling to its team as a non-executive director beginning in January 2019.

Tilling spent over 17 years working for Yum! Restaurants International in a variety of senior marketing roles for KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands. She also serves as a non-executive director with Camelot Group, the operator of the UK National Lottery.

BBC Studios Names Marketing Head, Customer Marketing Director

Sarah Brandist has been appointed as head of marketing for independent productions at BBC Studios, the company announced Tuesday. In this new role, Brandist will develop strategy for global brand and content.

BBC Studios also named Reece Littlejohn as director of customer marketing. He will put “customer central to the content company’s plans and activity.”

ConsumerMedical Names Marketing SVP

Heather Smiley has joined ConsumerMedical as senior vice president of marketing. Her marketing experience includes consultation and leadership for Fortune 500 companies including both MassMutual and Fidelity Investments.

In her new role, Smiley will focus on driving results through all channels including advertising, public relations, communications, sales and service enablement, and innovative digital assets and campaigns.

Tech21 Promotes Marketing Director To CEO

Mobile phone case manufacturer Tech21 has named Colin Woodward as its new CEO. Woodward joined Tech21 in 2015, where he held a number of roles including CMO and global marketing director. Woodward brings over 20 years experience in the technology industry to his new position as CEO that includes marketing, sales and brand strategy for companies like Sony and HTC.

GSMA Names New Chair

Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association (GSMA) has added Orange CEO Stéphane Richard the position of chairman. He will be responsible for overseeing strategic direction for the mobile industry.

Protective Life Corp Names SVP, Chief Marketing Officer

Chris Moschner has joined Protective Life Corporation as senior vice president and chief marketing officer effective November 30. Moschner joins Protective from Brighthouse Financial, where he was responsible for developing and executing marketing strategy across the multi-billion-dollar life insurance and annuity product portfolio. There, he is credited with playing a key role in the transition from the MetLife to Brighthouse brand.

Editor’s Note: Our weekly careers post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, December 7. Have a new hire tip? We’re looking for senior executive role changes in marketing and media. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.

Job Vacancies 

Executive Director, Chief Marketing Officer Lenovo Chicago, IL
Global Head (CMO) of Print Marketing HP Palo Alto, CA
VP, Digital Marketing Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. Union, NJ
VP, Brand Marketing Aéropostale Lyndhurst, NJ
Head of Integrated Marketing, Fire TV Amazon Seattle, WA
Head of Performance Marketing Strategy Uber San Francisco, CA

Make sure to check back for updates on our Careers page.

Gaining Actionable Understanding of Your Brand’s Personality

BY

By J. Galen Buckwalter, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Advisor, Soulmates.AI and CEO of psyML.co

Everyone responsible for a brand knows it has a personality, but turning that knowledge into action is not easy. Personality in people can be tracked in ways that help you leverage what you discover, but brands have not had the same metrics available to them. That has finally changed with research that led to the first true personality survey for brands, providing them with a dimensional view of their companies’ goals and values.

This was long in the works. For the first time in early 2004, psychologists settled on a universal definition of the dimensions of human personality. The effort to define traits began at least as far back as when Greek philosopher Hippocrates used the four bodily fluids to guide his thinking on personality. More empirically valid efforts began in earnest during WWI, when it became painfully evident that not everyone could be exposed to the carnage of war and return home with the same cognitive and emotional profiles they had when they left. While theories and assessments abounded, it wasn’t until the end of the 20th century that we started to see a consensus emerge. With the HEXACO personality inventory and the power of a machine learning technique called Natural Language Processing (NLP), it is finally possible to analyze written language at scale to get the most direct expression of one’s personality.

The American Psychological Association defines personality as something like the characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that make an individual unique. Slow down and think through what that sentence means, this explains that personality encompasses how we think, feel and behave. What HEXACO provides is understanding on a level that allows us to measure the very essence of what makes us unique. After 10 years of research using HEXACO, it has proven useful in predicting outcomes in leadership ability, job preference and satisfaction, political attitudes, fidelity in relationships, Machiavellianism, academic performance and credit risk. The best-known example of using personality measurement for this purpose is eHarmony, a company that matched single people based on profiles observed among successfully married couples.

The success of eHarmony was a key factor in leading the Soulmates.AI group to explore situations where this logic can be applied to other relationships, particularly those related to marketing. To consider how to understand the relationship between individuals and companies, we needed to understand how to measure the traits of companies.

We are not considering, as the Supreme Court had to do recently if corporations are people. But companies and brands, in general, must adopt personality characteristics if they hope to distinguish themselves as unique from other brands and stay relevant in an era when shopping on Amazon can make brands invisible to consumers.

Consumers interact with brands as they do with people; they develop feelings, stereotypes, even a sense of loyalty or distrust. Consumers make decisions based on these feelings, behaviors, and emotions. So, if we engage with brands in the same way we do with people, the logical conclusion is that we should be able to measure and research brands along the same dimensions of personality found in people. While it is one thing to argue that brands have a personality, it’s an entirely different pursuit to measure this in a way that allows us to match social media creators to brands for collaboration that feels authentic. With this hypothesis, Soulmate.AI and my company, psyML, began work to show we could capture brand personalities with a survey tool and use natural language processing to analyze social media content produced by both brands and social media creators. We began with 122 items and with three iterative factor analyses along with several methods of estimating reliability and we ended up with the first psychometrically valid HEXACO assessment of brand personality. Our hypothesis was shown to be strong and results promising.

In exploring a hypothesis, one needs to explore what’s been done elsewhere, hoping to find indications to suggest you aren’t tilting at windmills. Applying HEXACO to brands threaded that needle. As we worked on our research, three University of Belgrade researchers not only had the same idea, they recently published a study demonstrating the presence of a HEXACO-like structure when analyzing 120 brands. The study showed that HEXACO traits predicted substantial amounts of variance in such aspects of consumer-brand relationships as attitude toward the brand, perceived quality of the brand and brand loyalty. These results support findings by the Soulmates.AI team that using HEXACO as a means of measuring and researching brands is on an appropriate path.

The first use of the Brand Personality Survey (BPS) is two-fold. The BPS is being used to provide companies with an in-depth understanding of their current brand personality as recorded by a brand expert. This information is then used to algorithmically match the brand with social media creators based on the brand’s personality. This one-of-a-kind analytic and matching system is available as a beta at Soulmates.AI to enhance existing social media creator matching platforms.

The BPS on its own can be used to truly understand how concepts most important to your company can be used to properly plan the message you send to consumers, the content you create for them and ultimately, the products and services you offer to consumers. By reviewing the results of the BPS, you can gain greater clarity into how you are appearing to your consumers. Importantly, BPS can be matched with NLP analysis of your brand’s social profiles to ensure that your content is accurately portraying the persona you want to project.

Through deep analysis by both psychometricians on our team and branding experts with decades of experience in the field, the report from the BPS effectively explains how brands can act based on the insight provided by their HEXACO scores.

 

Visualization, Tech Among Top Trends Impacting Brands, Report Says

BY

Consumers are driven by what they can see and obtain quickly, according to the 2018 Mindshare report. In its annual study, the UK media company identified five key trends are shaping the technological and cultural worlds, as well as how they impact today’s brands.

The key trends impacting consumers and brands in 2018 include image-based interaction, discovery, connectivity, automation and data.

Mindshare surveyed over 6,000 people and held focus groups across the UK. They also carried out mobile qualitative and diary style exercises with over 100 people and carried out social and search analysis. Respondents were asked about levels of interest in different trends as well as usage habits.

Visualizing The Future

Human beings have always been visual creatures from the first cave drawings to this morning’s Instagram post. Mindshare found that images are just as, if not more, vital to today’s consumer in everything they do. Nearly three-quarters of consumers between the ages of 18-24 admitted to taking pictures or screenshots to help remember things.

Respondents expressed interest in visual search, especially, and 41 percent said they would use technology like Google Lens to do so.

Mindshare recommends that brands optimize their content for image search and consider how consumers use images to search. In addition, brands should think about the points in their purchase journey that could be improved through image recognition.

Exploring For Inspiration

Seven in 10 people click on content that has been recommended to them online, according to the report. That number rises to eight in ten for millennials and nine in ten for Gen Z. This makes trust even more vital for brands to earn in the coming years.

Recommendation engines have become a part of everyday life that many of us take for granted, whether that’s Netflix suggesting a movie or Amazon highlighting related items. Forty-one percent of consumers said they find it helpful when technology recommends them new products or services. Because these services are so commonplace, there is a higher expectation among consumers to receive accurate recommendations.

Tech’s Role In The Customer Journey

Automation is more prevalent in the lives of consumers and how they interact with brands. In 2018, Mindshare predicts that brands will weigh the impact this has on the consumer relationship. Forty-three percent of respondents find automation frustrating. In the coming year, the agency recommends augmented, not replacing the human role in customer support. Automation should also be delivered in the brand’s unique style so that consumers will feel easier about the process.

The final and perhaps most important trend impacting brands is data—whether it be martech or compliance with GDPR. The study predicts that many consumers will take a more proactive approach to data privacy by using encryption tools and denying access to brands. For this reason, brands need to practice transparency, help consumers make smart decisions and offer consumers a benefit for sharing.

The 29Rooms Experience Comes To L.A., Features Fred Segal, Mastercard

BY

Step into Los Angeles’ version of Refinery29’s 29Rooms pop-up “Expand Your Reality” and you’ll get what’s expected—opportunities for selfies—but you’ll also see many familiar brands including Pantene, Birchbox and Smirnoff. This playground is an opportunity for exposure—especially those geared towards women and millennials—and the holiday season is an added bonus.

The 29Rooms experience launched in 2015 in New York, but this will be its first stop in Los Angeles. There are seven rooms and two activations new to L.A version.

Of the 29 rooms, only two are actually branded—Pantene and Amazon Prime’s The Marvelous Mrs.Maisel—other brands choose to place activations at the experience, more in the style of an enormous, colorful stand.

One of these stands is a Mastercard and Fred Segal collaboration located directly to your right when you walk into 29Rooms.

Attendees can take pictures in front of a big red heart light or pose by the large striped wall. Mastercard is also the 2018 official payment and technology partner of 29Rooms. The corporation worked with Fred Segal and Refinery29 to create a new platform featuring a digital window (display screen) with a virtual tour of the Fred Segal store on Sunset Blvd.

The partnership brings Fred Segal, a 60-year old luxury retail store with only seven stores worldwide, and Mastercard back together after a previous collaboration experience in April.

At the 29Rooms activation, shoppers can navigate through the three-dimensional store and touch items they’re interested in. The activation features “29 gifts for everyone on your list,” an idea stemmed from Refinery29’s popular gift guide.

“Women like an experience and ease when they shop,” said Ashley Miles, chief client officer and head of advertising in North America for Refinery29.

“Our cardholders have many passions, and we use the sponsorship of events like 29Rooms as a way to bring them closer to the things they love to do and experience,” said Robyn Cottelli, North American communications business leader for Mastercard. “29Rooms—and other events that we sponsor—also provide an opportunity for us to bring our payment technology to life in new and exciting ways, like we did with immersive commerce here in LA…”

Mastercard felt Fred Segal, known for being innovative and disruptive, was a perfect partner to develop and set up new products and platforms to enhance the shopping experience.

“There’s a convergence of brick & mortar with digital, and there is finally some digital tools that make it more interesting to experiential minded retailers like Fred Segal,” said John Frierson, president of Fred Segal. “Every time you touch a consumer with your brand, it matters. Regardless of the platform.”

The interactive event also features spaces for artists and organizations like the ACLU, and runs December 5 – 9 at The Reef in downtown Los Angeles.

 

Digital Data Assets Surpass Traditional Data For First Time, IAB Report Says

BY

According to IAB’s State of Data 2018 report, for the first time in history marketers are investing more in digital data assets than traditional “terrestrial” data. Digital assets being those typically taken from consumers’ anonymous website behavior, with traditional being “direct mail and other offline communications.”

The research for the report was gathered by Winterberry Group and is based on several in-depth interviews with senior-level marketers in addition to aggregation of publicly available financial information.

In 2018, third-party digital data will account for $3.67 billion—up 36.9 percent from last year—compared to the $3.62 billion invested in terrestrial/PII assets. This expected increase is due to a rise in programmatic advertising. It also comes despite increased scrutiny on the use of consumer data.

“This year, as we build upon that first effort to provide the first historical view of domestic data expenditures and the dynamics undergirding them, we have another conclusion to make: data expenditures aren’t just big- they’re growing at a more rapid pace than the media channels with which they’re typically associated,” said Jonathan Margulies, managing director of Winterberry Group.

The report also found U.S. companies are accelerating their spending on third-party, audience data for advertising and marketing efforts.

This year, companies are expected to spend about $19.2 billion on U.S. audience data acquisition ($12 billion) and data activation solutions ($6.1 billion)—a 17.5 percent increase from 2017.

The growing investment in third-party audience data comes from the challenge marketers face establishing an understanding of who their individual customers and prospects are as they go over various touchpoints such as transactional, digital, traditional and promotional.

“Programmatic advertising has taken a central role in the marketing landscape and this study shows how increasingly vital third-party data has become as a result,” said Orchid Richardson, vice president and managing director, IAB.

“Third-party data provides insights—from geolocation to interests and more—that can help brands deliver highly personalized messages to consumers and expand audience.”

Investing in solutions to adequately combine the functionality of numerous established tools (CRM databases and DMPs) with a long-term view of creating a central view of prospect and customer audiences is one of the driving points in audience data activation solutions.

New regulations further impacted the growth within data management, processing and integration.

This year, GDPR changed the dynamic of third-party audience data forcing providers, who didn’t track the origin or supply chain of their audience, to exit or refine their approach to achieve agreement.

The passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), to take effect in 2020, will most likely have a similar impact as GDPR—marketers and data providers will look to anticipate any effects.

In 2019, experts believe the industry will get closer to solving attribution, get new transparency standards and there will be increased spending on data management and governance.

 

 

Zippo Uses ASMR To Celebrate Trademarking Of Signature Sound

BY

Zippo has partnered with BuzzFeed to kick off a new campaign highlighting the company’s signature “click.” The partnership with Buzzfeed includes a series of videos using ASMR—autonomous sensory meridian response—to celebrate the famous sound of its windproof lighters.

According to PR Week, “the campaign also includes an earned media strategy, social media amplification, a limited-edition lighter range and influencer collaborations.”

BuzzFeed released the first Zippo-branded video called “People Make an ASMR Video for the First Time” that features awkward attempts at recording a relaxing voice over. Participants try whispering, cutting paper and playing with a Zippo lighter—the latter of which causes instant reactions. Open the cover, scratching the flint wheel and blowing on the flame all create sounds that the participants enjoyed creating.

ASMR videos are designed to relax the listener through soft, repetitive sounds, much like those nature CDs so prominent during the 90s. For many, hearing certain sounds also triggers a satisfying physical response such as tingling on the skin—often described as the opposite of uncomfortable goosebumps.

That distinctive click of opening a Zippo cover, it turns out, fits nicely into the exploding trend of ASMR videos online. Many creators already use the lighters to elicit relaxation and the aforementioned “tingling” sensation in its listeners. The opening “click” sound is so distinctive that Zippo was granted a sound trademark, joining an exclusive list of brands like NBC’s chimes, MGM Studio’s roaring lion and AOL’s “You’ve got mail.”

The trademark was filed due in no small part to the brand’s history of fighting “fakes,” highlighted by the dedicated page on Zippo’s website about brand protection.

ASMR elicits an emotional response, making it a lucrative platform for marketing. IKEA recently made videos for students returning to dorm life that featured hands smoothing crisp, cotton sheets.

“These videos focus on products that are relevant to college students and are meant to not only educate the viewer on Ikea products but also to help them relax,” IKEA media project manager Kerri Homsher Longarzo (then external communications specialist) told AList in a previous interview.

Renault teamed up with YouTube influencer ASMR Zeitgeist to record relaxing audio of an electric car. Zeitgeist taps on the frame, tires and rubs on the seats to illustrate the quiet nature of Renault’s Zoe model.

According to Tubular Insights’ ‘State Of Online Video Report,’ in Q1 of this year ASMR videos generated 4.2 billion views on YouTube, with 4 percent growth between March and April.

Report: Most Consumers View AR Ads Favorably, Share With Friends

BY

Augmented reality (AR) is a bustling new landscape for audience engagement and a majority of users actually enjoy advertising on the platform. According to SuperData’s new mobile augmented reality (AR) report, brands can no longer ignore this demographic, but not all AR users are the same.

SuperData estimates the AR market to be over one billion users. These figures were calculated using information from proprietary data sharing partnerships, consumer studies, web and search analytics, publicly announced revenue and sales figures and information from trusted industry sources, SuperData explained.

Two in three AR users view augmented reality ads at least once per month, the report suggests, and 74 percent of those that see ads share them with their social media followers. It should come as no surprise, then that the most popular type of AR mobile app is social media at 84 percent, with companies like Snapchat and Instagram’s wide array of filters and camera effects.

When it comes to AR advertising, most users in SuperData’s study consider the format a good thing, perhaps because of the novelty—56 percent of users see them as a creative use of technology.

That’s good news for Shazam, which launched its AR marketing tools last March. Since then, the tech has been used to promote a number of brands from whisky brand Glenlivet and grocery chain Asda to Michael Jackon’s album “Scream” and Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Ecommerce brands like Amazon and furniture retailer Wayfair are also engaging users with AR formats. The standard Wayfair app lets users apply “stickers” to their spaces—2D silhouettes of furniture items that users can zoom in and out on to imagine how they’d fit into their spaces.

According to SuperData, the largest AR demographic is women between the ages of 18 and 34. To reach this segment, the study recommends using AR social features. In-game advertising, on the other hand, would likely be more effective for reaching men of the same age.

Digi-Capital forecasts that AR (mobile AR, smartglasses) could approach three and a half billion installed base and $85 billion to $90 billion revenue within five years. Consumers spent $3.4 billion last year on augmented, mixed and virtual reality in 2017, according to SuperData.

Burger King Just Used Geofencing As A Defensive Marketing Tactic

BY

Burger King is offering Whopper sandwiches for a penny, but consumers have to get near a McDonald’s to unlock the deal. This unusual offer leverages the disparity between the number of Burger King versus McDonald’s locations, thus turning a hindrance into a tactical advantage.

Beginning on Tuesday, hungry consumers can open the newly revamped Burger King app and venture within 600 feet of a McDonald’s location. Doing so will trigger a deal within a geofence, allowing them to order a Whopper for one penny. Consumers are then directed to the nearest Burger King location for pick up. The promotion, dubbed #WhopperDetour, will run for a limited time through December 12.

Geofencing uses GPS or RFID technology to map out an area of choice, allowing brands to trigger an event once a user enters. HBO used RFID wristbands to send shareable Game of Thrones content to visitors at San Diego Comic-Con last year, for example. Aside from the occasional coupon, the technology is still finding its marketing footing. Burger King is offering a coupon, sure, but using geofencing around a competitor’s location is definitely a unique way of utilizing the tech.

The quick-witted quick service restaurant “announced” the promotion with a cryptic tweet that quickly earned over 15,000 likes and 4,600 retweets. An hour later, Burger King launched the promotion with the slogan, “The Whopper Detour: Only ‘at’ McDonald’s.”

Sending your customers to your biggest rival sounds counter-intuitive, but consider the fact that Burger King has around 6,600 locations in the US compared to McDonald’s’ 14,000+. According to parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI), Burger King experienced growth of seven percent in Q3, with new restaurants popping up at just over six percent.

The promotion makes it easier to unlock the deal than sending them directly to Burger King, while allowing consumers to join in the brand’s competitiveness.

When it comes to Burger King marketing, their motto seems to be, “it’s so crazy that it just might work!” It often does.

Just look at the series of gibberish tweets the restaurant sent last week. A series of random characters managed to go viral—something even the most carefully planned campaigns often fail to achieve—before Burger King revealed the return of its Cini Minis.

RBI recently unveiled a new, modern “Burger King of Tomorrow” restaurant image with plans to roll out across the US. Part of the connected experience includes mobile ordering.